Under the shadow of three lingua francae : repositioning translation in East Asia

Translation as a form of resistance to globalization can be studied in relation to the quest for a common language in East Asia, the fastest-growing regional community in the world in the last few decades. The region has seen at least three lingua francae used in its history, including English, Chinese and Japanese, and the roles of these “languages of wider communication” have been variously documented and studied. In particular, English, the present-day language of dominance, has troubled the East Asian community. The successes of over a century of learning English as a foreign language notwithstanding, there is still skepticism concerning the amount of time and effort spent on acquiring a foreign, western language. In this light, translation becomes a much valorized solution. After all, translation provides the conditions allowing for true democratization, as the case of the European Union attests.